1895–96 North Wales Coast League

The 1895–96 North Wales Coast League was the third season of the newly formed North Wales Coast League[1] after its establishment in 1893. The league was won by Bangor, which is considered part of Bangor's 'Grand Slam'[2] season as they also won the Welsh Cup, North Wales Coast Senior Cup and North West Wales Challenge Cup.

1.
Bangor City F.C.
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Bangor City Football Club are a semi-professional Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. The club compete in the Welsh Premier League, being ever present since the league was founded in 1992. Bangor City F. C. is one of Wales older football clubs, and has an history of competition in European football. In the 1961–62 season, Bangor City won the Welsh Cup, in the first round, Bangor was drawn against the Italian Cup winners, Napoli, at the time one of Europes greatest football teams. In the first leg, played at Farrar Road, unexpectedly Bangor won 2–0, world superstar Bobby Charlton guested for the Blues in the 1978 Anglo-Italian Tournament. At the end of 1977–78 when Southport was relegated from the English Football League Fourth Division, Bangor City, Boston United, due to Wigan Athletic having installed crush barriers, Bangor missed out on promotion. In 1979–80 Bangor City was invited to compete in the Alliance Premier League, on 12 May 1984 Bangor became the first Welsh club to play at Wembley since Cardiff in 1927, when reaching the FA Trophy final against Northwich Victoria. The match finished 1–1, with local boy Paul Whelan scoring for Bangor, the replay was played in Stokes Victoria Ground, and despite a goal from another Bangor lad, Bangor lost 2–1 conceding in the last minute. In 1985 Bangor City was back in the ECWC, in the first round drawn against the Norwegian cup winners, Fredrikstad. Interestingly, captain of Bangor that season was midfielder Mark Palios, against Atletico, Palios shaved the post with a header in the first minute that would have given Bangor an unlikely lead in the first leg at Farrar Road following a cross by Phil Lunn. In 1994 as League of Wales Champions, Bangor City entered the UEFA Cup, akranes won the leg in Bangor by 2–1, while Bangor lost the match in Iceland by 2–0. Łódź were a powerful side, But Nick dominated throughout the game. Having played Liverpool, Juventus and Manchester United in earlier campaigns, manager at the time was Nigel Adkins, now in charge of Championship side Reading. Unsurprisingly Bangor were beaten, 2–0 at home, and 1–0 in Finland, in 2006 the club made it to the Welsh Cup final where they were beaten by Rhyl 2–0 at Wrexhams Racecourse ground. The club managed to win back the Welsh Cup in 2008, defying the odds and defeating league high fliers Llanelli 4–2 after extra time at Latham Park, Newtown. An injury time equaliser saw an invasion by celebrating Bangor fans before the Blues were able proceeding to defeat their expensively-assembled opponents during the additional period. Victory in the Welsh Cup meant that Bangor had again qualified for Europe, the first leg was held at the Racecourse ground, Wrexham, saw Bangor beaten 6–1 by a talented Danish side. Despite this early setback Bangor ended the 2008–09 season with yet more silverware as they retained the Welsh Cup by defeating Aberystwyth Town 2–0 in a match held at Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli

2.
Flint Town United F.C.
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Flint Town United FC is a Welsh football club representing the Flintshire town of Flint in Wales. They are nicknamed the The Silkmen, and play their games at Cae-y-Castell. They currently play in the Cymru Alliance league, Flint Town United currently play their games at Cae-y-Castell lit. The Castle Field, a purpose built stadium, the previous one becoming a park complex. Flint Town are currently in trouble, having been unable to find a proper sponsorship deal for the team. However, despite this they finished third in the previous season and their traditional rivals are Holywell Town and GAP Connahs Quay. They finished third in the 2006-07 season of Cymru Alliance, founded in 1886 as Flint F. C. playing at Strand Park which was located on the banks of the Dee Estuary. The club made an impression by reaching the first Welsh Amateur Cup final in 1890–91. Arthur Bartley, who played as goalkeeper for Flint, died from injuries sustained during a match in August 1891 and he was the older brother of Welsh international, Thomas Bartley, who spent six years with Flint at the start of his career. Founder members of the North Wales Coast League the club won the championship in 1893–94 by two points over runners-up Llandudno Swifts, remaining unbeaten in their twelve games. The next two seasons the club finished in the position before resigning from the league to join the newly formed Flintshire League. By the turn of the century the town of Flint had three teams, Flint Town, Flint Athletic and Flint UAC In 1905, Flint UAC and Flint Town amalgamated, taking the name of Flint Town. In 1909, as a Chester and District League side the club won their first major cup by defeating Pwllheli 1–0 in the final of the North Wales Amateur Cup. In 1924 the club left Stand Park for a new ground at Holywell Road, the new ground was then better equipped and could hold up to 3,000 spectators. These size of crowds were common in the 1920s, they were keen to see Flint’s part-time professionals play, led by Captain Emlyn Jones, Flint reached the 1925 Welsh Cup final only to lose to Wrexham’s professional team by 3 goals to 1. Regular cup successes were to follow however, as Flint won the North Wales Amateur Cup on three occasions between 1931 and 1932, Flint Town featured in the Welsh National League throughout to 1920s, becoming runners-up to Owestry Town in the 1923/24 season. In 1930 Flint Town joined the newly formed Welsh League which operated between 1930 and 1935, winning the title in 1933/34 season, scoring 99 goals in eighteen games. By this time, however, the club had won the Welsh Amateur Cup

3.
Holywell Town F.C.
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Holywell Town F. C. is a Welsh football club from Holywell, Flintshire. They are nicknamed The Wellmen, and play their games at Halkyn Road. Holywell Town were founding members of both the Cymru Alliance and the League of Wales and enjoyed their best period in the top flight in the mid-1990s. For the 2015-16 season, they will be playing back in the Cymru Alliance after a gap of nine due to winning the Welsh Alliance League Division 1 the previous season. The history of football in Holywell can be traced back to a club that was known as Holywell. There is evidence of a Holywell team existing way back in 1881, back in March 1893, Holywell became one of the seven founder members of the North Wales Coast League, and had 58 players registered with the club within six months of the league commencing. Holywell would finish 4th in the season of the North Wales Coast League. This was followed by three seasons of fifth-place league finishes, ending in 1897–98, when the finished in sixth place. This would be the worst position the club would end up during their time in the Coast League, the club reached their first cup final in 1898, when they faced Bangor City for the North Wales Senior Cup, but would lose the final 3–0 to Bangor City. However, after being engulfed by the Baron Corvo episode of 1899, the left the North Wales Coast League at the end of the 1900–01 season. After three years absence, football returned to Holywell in 1905, with the formation of a new club and they would later rejoin the North Wales Coast League for the 1912–13 season. Holywell United was to enjoy a run during the next few years. In the 1913–14 season, they achieved the North Wales Coast League and Amateur Cup double, winning 15 of their 17 league games and it was during this period when Holywell United hosted their biggest game at that time, playing an Everton XI at their Ffordd Fer ground. The Merseysiders included at least five players with English First Division experience within the team and they also reached the final of the North Wales Coast Amateur Cup for the fifth time, but would lose to Holyhead 3–1. In 1929–30, the club first appeared under the new name of Holywell Arcadians, for the following three seasons, Holywell Arcadians competed in the Welsh Football League, which ran alongside the North Wales Football Combination, and was the forerunner of the Welsh League. Holywells social and football history came together and combined to establish the club as it is known today, in 1946 former soldiers that were returning home from World War II established the club at Halkyn Road, where it has played its home games ever since. It was also around this period that the moniker of The Wellmen was adopted by the club, the Wellmen beat Barmouth 2–0 in the final at Llandudno. More success came to Holywell when they joined the Welsh League in the 1949–50 season and they finished a highly creditable fifth place, but went on to become the Welsh League champions in the 1952–53 season

4.
Rhyl F.C.
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Rhyl Football Club is a Welsh football club from Rhyl in Denbighshire, playing in the Welsh Premier League. The club was founded in 1879 and the team plays its matches at Belle Vue. Football in Rhyl dates from the late 1870s and at one time there were several Rhyl clubs in existence, Rhyl F. C. became founder members of the Welsh League, formed in 1890, but withdrew the following year. They reformed as Rhyl Athletic in 1893 and became members of the North Wales Coast League. Rhyl Athletic joined forces with Rhyl Town in 1898 and in an ambitious move switched to the Anglo-Welsh competition known as The Combination, despite financial crises, they remained in membership until the league disbanded at the end of the 1910–11 season. Rhyl won the title in 1925–26 and became a company in 1928 as Rhyl Athletic. In 1929 Rhyl applied to join the Football League but York City became the only non-league team elected to the Third Division North, with North Wales football in turmoil in the early 1930s, Rhyl sought to realise their ambitions elsewhere. Another unsuccessful application to the Football League was made in 1932 before joining the Birmingham, in a post-war purple patch, Rhyl won the league title twice – in 1947–48 and 1950–51 – and the Welsh Cup twice in succession. In 1952, they beat Merthyr Tydfil 4–3 and became the first non-league side in the era to retain the trophy. Rhyl had been losing finalists to Cardiff City in 1930 and Crewe Alexandra in 1937, but did not feature in the final again until 1993, between 1948 and 1972 Rhyl appeared regularly in the first round proper of the FA Cup. In 1957 Rhyl reached the fourth round proper, losing 3–0 away to Bristol City, in the Cheshire County League, success eluded them for several years before they won the title in 1972. On the dissolution of the Cheshire County League in 1982, Rhyl became members of the North West Counties League, in 1993–94, they won the title by six points and gained promotion to the League of Wales. Rhyl completed a quadruple by rounding off the season with a 6–0 win against Halkyn United in the Final of the North Wales Coast Challenge Cup. However, these feats were later tainted by the revelation that leading scorer Andy Moran had been taking the banned stimulant Nandrolone throughout the season, Rhyl won many games with late goals, leading to widespread rumours that other players were also taking the drug. Moran was stripped of his Golden Boot as a result, although the results were allowed to stand. Rhyl could not reproduce their quadruple heroics in 2004–05, the club finished runners-up in the Welsh Premier League to TNS and also fell to the same team in both the Welsh Cup semi-final and Welsh Premier Cup quarter-final. In 2005–06, Rhyl recorded their first-ever win in European competition when they defeated Lithuanian side FK Atlantas 2–1 in the leg of the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. Rhyl lost the away leg 3–2, but progressed on the away goals rule and they lost in the second round against Norwegian club Viking F. K

5.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh

6.
Football Association of Wales
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The Football Association of Wales is the governing body of association football in Wales. It is a member of FIFA, UEFA and the IFAB, the FAW was founded at a meeting held on 2 February 1876 at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Wrexham, initially to formalise the arrangements for the forthcoming match against Scotland. In May 1876, a meeting was called, this time in the ballroom of the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Ruabon where the name Football Association of Wales was agreed. The arguments and discussions continued so long that the local policeman came in to call time, the meeting ended with Llewelyn Kenrick appointed as the first chairman and honorary secretary with John Hawley Edwards as first treasurer. Kenrick continued to serve the FAW until 1884, when he left, in 1897, when the FAW secretary was charged with fraud, Kenrick returned to guide the association through the crisis. He made the break a few months later over the minor issue of the allocation of gate money to Welsh Cup semi-finalists and finalists. The FAW is also responsible for all actions against players in teams associated with the FAW. This includes Welsh teams playing in the English football pyramid, superseding the English FA disciplinary system with the exception of Cardiff City, the FAW is based at Neptune Court, Vanguard Way, Cardiff. It is governed by a council including nineteen councillors who are either elected, in 2012, chief executive Jonathan Ford claimed the FAW had an income of £14 million, funded from FIFA, UEFA, grants, sponsorship and TV revenue. All finances were spent on the development of the game. In 2013, Dragon Park, the Wales National Football Development Centre, Wales national football team List of football clubs in Wales Official website Wales at FIFA site Wales at UEFA site A Bibliography of Association Football in Wales

7.
Dragon Park
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Dragon Park is the Wales National Football Development Centre in the city of Newport, South Wales. The centre is located at the Newport International Sports Village, Lliswerry in the east of Newport near Newport Stadium and it was officially opened 20 April 2013 by Michel Platini, President of UEFA. The £5M complex was a joint venture between UEFA, the Football Association of Wales, Sport Wales and Newport City Council, the Centre is intended to develop the Wales under-21, Wales womens and younger age-group squads. The centre includes two pitches and one artificial turf pitch. The centre also provides headquarters for the Welsh Football Trust, the development body, with analysis suites, sports science laboratories

8.
Professional Footballers' Association
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The Professional Footballers Association is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. The worlds oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members, the aims of the PFA are to protect, improve and negotiate the conditions, rights and status of all professional players by collective bargaining agreements. The PFA is affiliated with the Professional Footballers Association Scotland, the Northern Ireland PFA disbanded in 1995. The PFA was formed on 2 December 1907 as the Association of Football Players and Trainers Union, on that date, Charlie Roberts and Billy Meredith, both of Manchester United, convened the Players Union at Manchester’s Imperial Hotel. This was the attempt to organise a union of professional footballers in England, after the Association Footballers Union. Like the AFU before it, the Players Union intended to challenge the maximum wage, in response, the Union threatened strike action. The Football Association in turn banned players affiliated with the AFPTU before the start of the 1909–10 season, the ban saw membership of the Union fall. However, players from Manchester United refused to relinquish their membership, the Manchester United players were called Outcasts FC. The deadlock swung in favour of the Union when Tim Coleman of Everton came out in support of the Union, colemans intervention resuscitated support for the Union, which regained its strength of numbers. Agreement was reached on official recognition for the Union in exchange for allowing bonus payments to be made to players to supplement the maximum wage, the maximum wage remained for more than another half century. The 1910s saw the Union backing a challenge by Herbert Kingaby against the retain, Kingaby brought legal proceedings against his former employers, Aston Villa, for preventing him from playing. The Players Union funded the proceedings, erroneous strategy by Kingabys counsel resulted in the suit ending disastrously for the Union. The Union were almost ruined financially and membership fell drastically, although membership increased from 300 in 1915 to well over 1000 by 1920 this did not herald a new era of radicalism among the rank-and-file. Inevitably, this financial difficulties at many clubs. Clubs believed their problems were due to players excessive wages rather than over-expansion, in the spring of 1922, they persuaded the League authorities to arbitrarily impose a £1 cut to the maximum wage and force clubs to reduce the wages of players who were on less than the maximum. Legal proceedings backed by the Players Union this time established that clubs could not unilaterally impose a cut in players contracted wages, between 1946 and 1957 the Chairman of the Union was former Portsmouth captain Jimmy Guthrie. In 1956, Jimmy Hill became secretary of the Players Union and he soon changed the unions name to the Professional Footballers Association, changing a blue collar image to one in keeping with the new wave of working-class actors and entertainers. In 1957, Jimmy Hill became chairman of the PFA and campaigned to have the Football Leagues £20 maximum wage scrapped and his Fulham teammate Johnny Haynes became the first £100 player

9.
Wales national football team
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The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales, the body for football in Wales. During their history, Wales have qualified for two international tournaments. They reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 FIFA World Cup and they reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016 after beating Belgium in the quarter-final match on 1 July 2016. This was, therefore, the first time that Wales had reached the semi-final of a major tournament, Wales also progressed through UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying to the quarter-final, which was played on a home and away leg basis but they did not feature in the finals tournament. At all levels including the teams the Welsh national team draws players primarily from clubs in the English football league system. The main professional Welsh clubs play in the English leagues, with some full-time and part-time professional clubs playing in the Welsh football league system. Wales played its first competitive match on 25 March 1876 against Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland took the spoils winning 2–0. Wales first match against England came in 1879 – a 2–1 defeat at the Kennington Oval, London and in 1882 Wales faced Ireland for the first time, the associations of the four Home Nations met in Manchester on 6 December 1882 to set down a set of worldwide rules. This meeting saw the establishment of the International Football Association Board to approve changes to the rules, the 1883–84 season saw the formation of the British Home Championship, a tournament which was played annually between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, until 1983–84. Wales were champions on 12 occasions, winning seven times whilst sharing the title five times. As a result, Wales did not enter the first three World Cups, in 1932 Wales played host to the Republic of Ireland, the first time they played against a side from outside the four home nations. A year later, Wales played a match outside the United Kingdom for the first time when they travelled to Paris to take on France in a match which was drawn 1–1. The top two teams were to qualify for the finals in Brazil, but Wales finished bottom of the group. The 1950s were an age for Welsh football with stars such as Ivor Allchurch, Cliff Jones, Alf Sherwood, Jack Kelsey, Trevor Ford, Ronnie Burgess, Terry Medwin. Wales made its only World Cup finals tournament appearance in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, however, their path to qualification was unusual. In the Asian/African qualifying zone Egypt and Sudan had refused to play against Israel following the Suez crisis, as a result, FIFA proclaimed Israel winners of their respective group. However, FIFA did not want a team to qualify for the World Cup finals without actually playing a match and so lots were drawn of all the second placed teams in UEFA

10.
Wales national under-21 football team
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The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held two years. The U-21 team came into existence following the realignment of UEFAs youth competitions in 1976, a goalless draw in a friendly against England at Wolverhampton Wanderers Molineux Stadium was Wales U21s first result. The national under-21 team is the highest level of football in Wales. This team is for Welsh players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, so players can be, also in existence are teams for Under-20s, Under-19s and Under 17s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side, ryan Giggs only made one appearance for the under-21 team before making his senior debut against Germany the next day. From 2004 onward however, the former Wales national football team manager John Toshack, the team now has a much better tracking system of young Welsh players, and has seen a marked improvement in players and team results. Recent results have seen them achieve big wins against Estonia, Northern Ireland, on 15 May 2008, they played a friendly against England U21s to mark the 100th match in the history of the side, losing 2–0. A 3–0 victory against Romania in September 2008 meant that the Under-21 side finished top of their group for the first time in their history. It meant Wales would go into a two-legged play-off against England in October 2008 for a place in the finals of the 2009 UEFA U-21 Championship to be played in Sweden, Wales lost the playoff 5–4 over the course of two legs. Losing 3–2 at home in the first leg and drawing 2–2 away in the second, on 15 March 2017 it was announced that former Port Vale and Northampton Town manager Rob Page had left his position on the coaching staff at Nottingham Forest to become Wales under-21 manager. Players born on or after 1 January 1994 are eligible for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Wales squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship matches against Armenia on 11 October 2016. Ryan Hedges withdrew and was replaced by Owain Jones Caps and goals as of 6 September 2016, players in bold have attained full international caps. Clubs as of the date of the announcement, the following players have also been called up to the Wales under-21 squad and remain eligible. The Rec. Sport. Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships, Football Association of Wales Contains fixtures/results and news for every Welsh national football team

11.
Wales national under-19 football team
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The Wales national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship held every year, the under-19 squad has not been extremely successful in recent years but has become a proving ground for talented youngsters. In recent years full international players like Gareth Bale, Joe Allen, players born on or after 1 January 1998 are eligible for the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2015, players in bold have attained full international caps. Clubs as of the date of the announcement, Under-19 squad called up for the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification round matches against Greece, England and Luxembourg. The following players have also called up to the Wales under-19 squad

12.
Wales national under-17 football team
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The Wales national under-17 football team is the national under-17 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship held every year, players born on or after 1 January 2000 are eligible for the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Under-17 squad called up to play UEFA Euro qualifiers in Portugal in September 2016, Wales hosted the qualification round games for their group on 22nd,24 and 27 October 2015. Wales qualified for the Elite Round as one of the five best third-placed teams from the Qualification Round, for the Elite Round, Wales were drawn against Portugal, Croatia and Sweden. Croatia will act as group hosts, fifteen teams will qualify from the Elite Round, the eight group winners and seven second-placed teams with the best record against the first and third-placed teams in their groups. The Elite Round qualifiers will join hosts Azerbaijan in the final tournament, UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Football Association of Wales Wales national football team Wales national under-21 football team Wales national under-19 football team

13.
Wales national semi-professional football team
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The Wales National Semi-Professional Football Team is a football team that represents Wales at non-league level. Players with a Welsh qualification, under 23 years of age, the squad is normally made up of players from the Welsh Premier League and the Conference National league. Many players who have been capped for the Wales Semi-Pro team have gone on to play at a higher level, home matches are played at various grounds around the country. The Wales Semi Pro team compete in both the Four Nations Tournament and the International Challenge Trophy, the team is managed by former Wales international Terry Boyle. Squad to face Turkey A2 in Port Talbot on 16 October 2012, shane Sutton and Ben Swallow were subsequently added to the squad. * Withdrew from squad Terry Boyle Tony Pennock The FAW runs a semi-professional Under 18 squad using players drawn from Welsh Premier League clubs

14.
Wales women's national football team
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The Wales womens national football team represents Wales in international womens football. They have yet to qualify for the stages of the World Cup or European Championships and are currently ranked 32nd in the world. The team is run by the Welsh FA, *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. The following players were named to the roster for friendlies against Northern Ireland on 5 and 7 April 2017, manager, Jayne Ludlow The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months

15.
Welsh football league system
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The Welsh football league system is a series of football leagues with regular promotion and relegation between them. At the top is the Welsh Premier League, which is the national league in Wales. Below it is the tier of leagues, covering north and south Wales. The south is covered by the Welsh Football League while the north, again, the champions or runners-up of these leagues can be promoted into the Cymru Alliance, given suitable grounds. The Welsh National League has two divisions of its own and the Clwyd East Football League is the feeder league below it. In the south, the Welsh Football League has three divisions all covering the whole of the South Wales geographical area, and it is not until the fifth tier of the pyramid that local leagues appear. Promotion to, and relegation from the Welsh League is structured, as in the north, each can send one promoted team into the Welsh Football League. This is straightforward enough in the Gwent FA area, where there is one senior league, below these two leagues are local leagues in the towns and cities of South Wales, the champions of which may play off to be promoted into the new league. However, as few west Wales clubs can face the prospect of the implications of moving up to the Welsh Football League. The latest clubs to promotion from this region were Llansawel in 2006, West End in 2005, Ystradgynlais in 2004, Cwmamman United in 2002. On 31st May 2016, Ynysygerwn beat Team Swansea 3-1 at the Old Road, Briton Ferry Llansawel in a play-off to gain promotion to the Welsh League Division 3

16.
Welsh Premier League
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The Welsh Premier League is the national football league for Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system, prior to 2002, the league was known as the League of Wales, but changed its name as part of a sponsorship deal. Currently, the sponsored name of the league is the Dafabet Welsh Premier League. At the end of the 2015/16 season the Welsh Premier League was ranked 48th out of 55 members by the UEFA coefficient. The league was formed in October 1991 by Alun Evans, Secretary General of the Football Association of Wales, the new league was formed for the 1992–93 season, and officially launched on 15 August 1992. At the time, despite the FAW being a FIFA and UEFA member it had not previously organised a national league, traditionally, the strongest teams in Wales had always played in the English leagues. Aberdare Athletic, Cardiff City, Merthyr Town, Newport County, Swansea City, the formation of the League of Wales saw the start of a bitter dispute between the Football Association of Wales and those non-League clubs who wanted to remain part of the English football pyramid. The Irate Eight, as they were dubbed, consisted of Bangor City, Barry Town, Caernarfon Town, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Newtown and Rhyl. At the time, Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham were playing in The Football League, prior to the inaugural season, Bangor City, Newtown and Rhyl reluctantly agreed to play in the League of Wales. However, as Rhyls application to join the league was late, because of FAW sanctions, the remaining five clubs were forced to play their home matches in England. Following a season in exile at Worcester City, five became four, conversely, in 1996 now-defunct English team Oswestry Town were accepted by the League of Wales and currently The New Saints are based in Oswestry. The PA added the results at the start of the 1996–97 season. One of the problems facing the league is its failure to attract teams from the major population centres of Wales. This is because the four most populous areas of Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, the Welsh Premier League is therefore made up of clubs from smaller towns and even villages. Clubs are promoted to the Welsh Premier League from the two feeder leagues, the Cymru Alliance in the north and the Welsh Football League Division One in the south. No teams were promoted to the Welsh Premier League following the 2005–06 season, however, Cardiff Grange Quins, who finished bottom of the Welsh Premier League resigned leaving the league to operate with an odd number of clubs for 2006–07. The 2009–10 season saw Bala Town promoted to the Welsh Premier League after they won the Cymru Alliance in 2008–09 and they replaced Caernarfon Town who were relegated to the Cymru Alliance. At the end of the 2009–10 season, due to league restructuring Connahs Quay, Porthmadog, Welshpool Town, Caersws, no teams were promoted to the Welsh Premier League from the feeder leagues

17.
Welsh Football League
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The Welsh Football League is a club football league in Wales. Division One of the Welsh Football League is at Level 2 of the Welsh football league system, the Welsh Football Leagues history stretches back to 1904 when the competition was first formed and Aberdare were crowned first champions of a seven-team First Division. Abergavenny were champions of Division 2 and Trelewis the winners of Division 3 and its current title was adopted in 1912 when it changed from the Glamorgan League. Prior to that it was known as the Rhymney Valley League, during the early days of the Rhymney Valley and Glamorgan Leagues there was also the South Wales League but this competition had no connection with the origins of the Welsh Football League. The Cymru Alliance and feeder leagues to the Cymru Alliance are its equivalent in North Wales and it also has its own knock-out competition, the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League Cup. Cardiff City Reserves has the record of trophies won with 7 titles, in April 1904 the Merthyr Express newspaper reported that a new football league would be formed in addition to the South Wales League which had been in existence since 1891. Interest in the new league was high and the formation of three divisions attracted no fewer than 25 clubs, including Corinthians from Cardiff. Seven clubs formed the new top division and Aberdare were crowned as the inaugural champions, the league is made up of three divisions each having 16 clubs. There is promotion and relegation between the divisions, with the top three teams in each division being promoted to the one above and the three being relegated to the one below. The winner of the First Division may be promoted to the national Welsh Premier League and this number totalled four in 2011, despite only two teams being promoted, in order for the three divisions to number 16 clubs. This division has changed its name on numerous occasions,22 Clubs won Top Division of the Welsh League in South Wales

18.
Welsh Premier Women's Football League
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The Welsh Premier League is the top level womens football league in Wales. It was founded in 2009 and was the first womens league in Wales. The winner qualifies for a spot in the UEFA Womens Champions League, in previous years the national cup winner was sent into European competition. The league is divided into two Conferences that play a round robin, with the winner of both contesting a final for the championship. The first season featured no relegation, from the 2010-11 season onwards, the league was increased to five teams per Conference in 2010–11, with Caerphilly Castle Ladies and Trefelin Ladies joining the South and Llandudno Junction Ladies joining the North. Manorbier Ladies ceased playing activities after their inaugural season, Llandudno Junctions stay in the league lasted just one season before they were relegated, they were replaced by Northop Hall Girls. In its first three years the league was divided into two conferences, north and south, both winners then played a championship play-off for the title and right to play in the UEFA Womens Champions League. A relegation system was introduced in the season, when the last place in each conference was relegated. The league changed the format to a division for the 2012–13 season. The league was expanded for the second time. After eight teams in the first season and ten teams in second and third season, for this season PILCS changed their name to Abergavenny Women, Rhyl & Prestatyn Ladies chenged their name to Rhyl Ladies. Briton Ferry Llansawel were promoted to the Premier League, Cwmbran Celtic withdraw from the league, because a lack of players. Former teams were Manorbier Ladies, Aberystwyth Town Ladies, Northop Hall Girls, Caerphilly Castle Ladies, Caernarfon, Trefelin Ladies, Llanidloes Ladies F. C. in the first three seasons a final between the division winners determined the champion. Cardiff Met. have won the most titles with four, a Premier League cup has been held since 2014. Ladies F. C.2015, PILCS2016, Swansea City Ladies F. C.2017, Ladies F. C. welshpremier. com welsh-premier. com League at uefa. com

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Welsh Cup
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The Welsh Cup is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. The Football Association of Wales is the body of this competition. The winning team qualifies to play in the following seasons UEFA Europa League, until 1995, Welsh clubs playing in the Welsh or English leagues were invited to play in the Welsh Cup. On occasion some English clubs, mostly those from border areas such as Shrewsbury, Hereford, however, in the event of an English club winning the Welsh Cup, they were not allowed to progress to the European Cup Winners Cup. Instead, the best placed Welsh club in the Welsh Cup competition would take the European place, from 1996 to 2011, only clubs playing in the Welsh football league system were allowed to enter the Welsh Cup. This rule excluded the six Welsh clubs who played in the English football league system, Cardiff City, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Tydfil Town, Newport County, Swansea City and Wrexham. On 20 April 2011, the Football Association of Wales invited these six clubs to rejoin the Welsh Cup for the 2011–12 season, between the 1961–62 and 1984–85 seasons, the final was played as a two-leg match, originally on a points basis rather than aggregate score. In the 1985–86 season, it reverted to a game, to be decided by extra time. The last English winner of the Welsh Cup was Hereford United in 1990, for a list of Welsh Cup finals including venue and attendance information see List of Welsh Cup finals

Wales ((listen); Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəmri] (listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of …

Britain in AD 500: The areas shaded pink on the map were inhabited by the CelticBritons, here labelled Welsh. The pale blue areas in the east were controlled by Germanic tribes, whilst the pale green areas to the north were inhabited by the Gaels and Picts.

Bangor City Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are a semi-professional Welsh football club from the …

The Welsh Cup is the second oldest national trophy in world football. Above, on display before Bangor City's victory over Welsh Premier League rivals Llanelli in the 2008 final at Latham Park, Newtown.